San Diego

Compact, intense, and way more influential than a city this sunny has any right to be. Drive Like Jehu is the crown jewel. Froberg and Reis building walls of guitar that are melodic and savage in equal measure. Yank Crime is THE record, odd meters erupting everywhere. Reis is also doing Rocket from the Crypt AND running Swami Records because sleep is for wimps. Froberg draws all the art and it's iconic, hand-drawn raw punk illustration that looks like it was carved into a desk with a pocketknife. The Casbah and Che Cafe host everything. San Diego is NOT LA and doesn't want to be. Smaller, meaner, allergic to industry machinery. Perfect.